Pilot, Assess, Deploy

Fort Hays State University Successfully Goes Mobile

In the fall of 2005 Fort Hays State University (FHSU), located in Hays, Kansas, investigated technologies to enhance teaching and learning in and out of the classroom. The university embraced a “high-tech, high-touch” philosophy to ensure their campus environment promoted innovation and exploration without losing the individualized attention afforded to all FHSU students.

University administrators knew a focus on mobile computing would help achieve the school’s technology goals so they created a Mobile Computing Task Force which consisted administrative, technical, and faculty representatives. Each person was charged with researching how the university would uphold its technology efforts and transition to a mobile campus. The task force employed a multi-faceted approach to technology implementation. First, they investigated the latest technologies and instituted a pilot program to evaluate the technology’s validity for teaching.

CHALLENGE

Realizing Internet connectivity would plays a crucial role in the success of a truly mobile campus, the task force researched, and ultimately invested in campus-wide wireless technology. They also decided to implement a tablet PC mandate requiring all freshmen to purchase the hardware starting in the fall of 2007. However, the task force’s job was not finished by merely investing in state-of-the-art wireless technology and a tablet PC mandate. Representatives new the right teaching software was a crucial element to increasing academic achievement and creating a successful mobile computing campus.

Fortunately, that year an annual education technology conference was held on the university’s campus and the task force members attended the event in hopes of finding the perfect software to use on their tablet PCs. While there, some members of the team saw a demonstration of DyKnow Vision and DyKnow Monitor. Representatives were particularly interested in DyKnow Vision’s the digital ink capabilities.

SOLUTION

In order to determine if DyKnow Vision was the proper software for FHSU, The Center for Teaching Excellence and Learning Technologies (CTELT) at the University coordinated an eight-week pilot program in collaboration with the task force. They purchased 30 licenses to share in a computer-lab environment between students and faculty in three different classes.

“The goal for the pilot was to determine whether this software would be a good tool that could be used in the mobile computing environment,” said Hong Wang, Director of Instructional Design and Course Support Services in CTELT.

Faculty participating in the pilot program believed the software supported FHSU’s vision of a “high-tech, high-touch” campus where students actively participate in every course.

“We saw how DyKnow Vision enhanced interactivity, engagement, communication, productivity, and supported continued change of pedagogical applications,” said Christa Weigel, assistant professor in the Allied Health Department and pilot participant.

In order to determine whether their beliefs were indeed correct, CTELT surveyed students and faculty members in the pilot classes. They looked for specific data about the software’s impact on classroom management, communication, recollection, comprehension, as well as attitudes, feelings, and motivations while using this technology. The task force members concluded that DyKnow Vision is an effective teaching tool after reviewing the survey results. The following graphs represented a cross-section of the total responses provided by professors and students, as it related to using DyKnow Vision.

“Tablet PC technology accompanied by DyKnow Vision opened new possibilities for greater and more efficient classroom interactions in all directions,” said Zdeslav Hrepic, assistant professor in the physics department and pilot participant. “In our experience, we found a great majority of students liked both the hardware and the software. It seems DyKnow Vision really removed mental barriers hindering students from speaking up and presenting their ideas and questions. The technology created a seamless and rich learning process, which naturally lent itself to discuss.”

Based on the success of the three pilot classes, FHSU administrators decided to purchase 500 DyKnow Vision licenses in the fall of 2006. In order to gain faculty awareness and adoption, Task Force members employed a robust faculty development program. CTELT started a training program to expose all available teaching tools, including DyKnow Vision and DyKnow Monitor, to interested professors and students. The initial training program was aimed at users of all ability levels and included technology assistance in the classroom, open lab sessions, face-to-face help session, online resources and support via email and phone. FHSU even hosted two pedagogy sharing sessions with experienced DyKnow users.

With these support measures in place, the Task Force saw DyKnow Vision usage on campus tripled since the small pilot program started in 2006. Faculty members reported feeling more comfortable using the technology and were encouraged through various support systems to share their success stories, motivating other faculty to try DyKnow in their classrooms.

A “New” College Classroom

As faculty members became more comfortable using DyKnow Vision, they quickly thought of new or non-traditional ways to use the software. Though originally intended as an on-campus tool, faculty members from the Allied Health Department saw how it could be useful in distance-learning courses as well.

Students in the Allied Health Department fit a different profile where flexibility is crucial. Often these students are adult’s who work full-time or manage families. Even traditional students need flexibility; FHSU’s rural location means students often travel hundreds of miles to attend clinical courses.

Prior to use DyKnow Vision, professors in the Allied Health Department’s used a learning management system (LMS) to provide content for distance students. However, numerous problems arose using the technology including connectivity issues, inability to provide quick feedback and problems determining when students were logged-in and participating. Both students and professors were frustrated with the system and Brenda Hoopingarner, Department Chair, knew they needed better way to teach these necessary distance learning classes.

Hoopingarner became acquainted with DyKnow Vision during the pilot program and shedecided try it out in her distance courses. She was immediately impressed with how much easier it was to provide instant feedback to remote students and tailor her teaching to the topics they were struggling with.

“In the past, with the LMS collaboration session, it was impossible to try to draw something out to demonstrate a concept or actually go through a problem,” Hoopingarner said. “So, the switch to DyKnow Vision has been huge for me and my students.”

Weigel, another pilot participant and assistant professor in the Allied Health Department, also thought about the implications of using DyKnow Vision in her hybrid online and on-campus courses. Using the LMS it was always difficult for her to track student progress or hold students accountable when they were in and out of the classroom all week but once she started using DyKnow Vision that was no longer a problem.

“In my hybrid classes, I meet with students one hour on Monday and one hour on Tuesday, and then the students were responsible for work outside of class the rest of the week using DyKnow Vision,” Weigel explained. “I post presentations and assign readings for the students to do before the next live class. During the on-campus classes, I was able to do more review of the information through DyKnow Vision. Using polling, panel submission, and work groups I reviewed the information they were assigned to do before class.”

Weigel also liked the software’s recording and replay features to ensure her students received a thorough review of the material.

“Many times I do not have time to discuss the outcomes of the lab experiments with each group of students in class,” she said. “With DyKnow, I took the images that were taken during lab and import them into DyKnow. I then used the record function to explain the experiments. I did this by myself in my office and then posted the DyKnow presentation for students to review.”

Weigel noticed students in the hybrid classes were noticeably more engaged in class. She even saw an increase in how prepared her students were when they came to class. Much like Weigel, Hoopingarner made class time more productive using DyKnow.

“We are now able to cover more material and thus have been able to include more in depth topics on the examinations…I believe the course rigor has increased due to the fact that I can cover more information in a more in-depth and detailed fashion,” Hoopingarner reported.

Both Weigel and Hoopingarner are excited about expanding the ways they use DyKnow Vision in the classroom. By using technology to facilitate educational advancement on and off campus, both professors exemplify why FHSU will continue to be a leader in campus technology integration.

Background

Approximately 10,000 students
30 departments
Mobile campus
One-to-one mandate
500 DyKnow Vision licenses